Stella Glow Reviews
As Imageepoch's swan song, it may not be a slam dunk, but it's clear that Stella Glow was crafted with care from people who know the genre, even if at times you just have to stare at whatever just happened in disbelief and say, "Okay, whatever, game."
Stella Glow is a solid, old-school SRPG experience that will delight those who enjoy Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, or any of the other turn-based strategy games of the Japanese flavor that have come along in the last few decades.
Stella Glow is a good strategy game for the 3DS that I can easily recommend for those whose enjoy the genre or are fans of the game's developer. However, it is far from a perfect experience. The frequent use of cliches, the lack of speed, and few difficulty options alongside other flaws keep Imageepoch's latest work from being a memorable experience.
In many ways, Stella Glow is a by-the-numbers strategy RPG, but it does have a partially interesting cast, some unique storylines, and a working combat system. Imageepoch has had some ups and downs in their lengthy career, but thankfully they can at least end on somewhat of a high note.
A fitting swan song for imageepoch and another gem in the 3DS' legendary RPG lineup, Stella Glow is smart, stylish, and seriously satisfying. Fans of SRPGs will get a kick out of the combat, characters, and strategy, the fun, fast-paced story will keep you entertained to the end, and the musical motif works wonderfully, winding its way through the gameplay and presentation with ease. A few interface wobbles keep it from being a totally perfect show, but they're minor concerns in an otherwise spellbinding performance. Stella Glow is absolutely worth singing about.
This narrative isn't the most enticing, but it's a serviceable story that will keep players intrigued from beginning to end.
Succinctly summarizing Stella Glow has proven surprisingly difficult. In many ways it feels like your average JRPG strategy game, and in some places it even stumbles over itself with attempts at being cute or sexy. However, there are also enough strong points that really shine through and make the game stand out from the crowd, even if its best features are reminiscent of ideas from more noteworthy titles.
Stella Glow isn't reinventing the wheel here, but to its benefit it's not trying to. It's trying to be a fun, engaging, and relatively brief tactical J-RPG that signs the end of Imageepoch's tenor with a franchise they started. The story is anime-solid. The combat and social mini-games are enjoyable, and what few irritants the game does have are easily bested by any invested role-playing gamer. Stella Glow has a talent for keeping you engaged all the way through, which is a rare trait for the increasingly niche world of Japanese Role Playing games.